What Is This Feeling?
by Em Pataki
Summary: Rhonda has fixed her Origami Marriage Predictor and feels the best way to celebrate would be by testing its results with a dinner party. Seeing everyone forced to show up with their undesired partners makes Arnold realize how strong his feelings are for Helga.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: It's Fixed

What is love? An intense feeling of deep affection. Perhaps it should not be seen as a feeling, but rather an enacted emotion. More importantly, how do you know _when_ it's occurring...

It was the beginning of their seventh grade year. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and everyone was anxious to leave class.

 _Classroom_

"So, you get your invitation to Rhonda's dinner party?" Gerald turned to ask his best friend.

"Yeah. It's too bad it's not a costume party." Arnold replied, gathering his needed books from his desk.

"Perhaps you should get your girlfriend's approval on that." Gerald laughed, remembering Helga's choice to dress as Arnold's former crush, Lila.

After blushing at the remark, Arnold turned in his chair to ask "Ready to go Helga?"

Rolling her eyes at the rhetorical question, she scoffed "What's it look like football head?"

Taking her hand in his, the two began walking outside the classroom as Arnold turned to his other friends and said "See you later guys."

 _Hallway_

While Gerald waited for his girlfriend to grab what she needed from her locker, he listened to her say "I couldn't help but notice Rhonda made another origami marriage predictor."

Rolling his eyes at the memory of her last attempt to make one, Gerald shook his head and said "Man I had to listen to her do Arnold 110 times with that thing!"

"To his surprise, the results turned out to be quite accurate." Phoebe began before being interrupted by her boyfriend.

"They're not married yet you know."

After giggling at his joke, they began exiting the school, still trying to think of what they could wear for the dinner party.

 _Outside the school_

"You should wear your pink dress you wore at Chez Paris for Rhonda's party. Unless you do have a costume you plan on wearing." Arnold winked at his girlfriend, walking down the steps of P.S.118.

"Well I'm not going as Ms. Perfect again, that's for sure." she scoffed.

"I don't know. I thought you looked pretty cute." he smiled, rubbing her hand with his thumb.

Before she could say anything, the two of them heard…

"Oh there you two are!"

Arnold and Helga turned their heads to see Rhonda sitting on the steps with her marriage predictor and the rest of their classmates.

"What's going on?" he wondered, seeing everyone gathered there together.

"Didn't ya read your invitation Arnold?" Stinky asked.

Helga stood with her arms crossed beside her boyfriend, as she watched him set down his bag to find his invitation.

After finding it, Arnold opened it to read….

 _Partner Party_

 _I have at last fixed my origami marriage predictor. What better way to celebrate than by throwing a dinner party? We'll have marriage practice tomorrow at my place. You will all arrive with the people my marriage predictor has matched you up with Sunday for the actual party. See you there!_

While Helga rolled her eyes, after having leaned over Arnold's shoulder to read Rhonda's demanding instructions, Arnold gulped at the thought of taking anyone other than his girlfriend. The last time he played this game, the thought of marrying Helga sent unpleasant chills throughout his body. Now the idea of being with anyone other than her made his blood run cold.

"Uhh...no thanks Rhonda. I think I'll just bring Helga. See you later." he waved, taking Helga's hand in his.

Before he could leave, Arnold heard his best friend approaching the anxious to play group.

"What's going on buddy?" Gerald asked, after being thrown off by everyone waiting together as well.

Taking her hand back to place on her waist, Helga scoffed "Princess here seems to think she can use her lamebrain dinner party as some sort of multiple wedding reception."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gerald asked, looking over at the evil grin on Rhonda's face.

"It means I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate the corrections I've made than by putting it's results to the test. So, Eugene you're up first!" Rhonda exclaimed, looking in his direction.

Eugene hadn't been too thrilled with the results of the test the last time it was taken. Perhaps it wasn't the person so much as it was the pressure of already having such a big decision in his life made at such an early point for him.

"Pick your favorite color, number and day of the month you were born!" Rhonda insisted, not caring how nervous he was.

"Uhh...yellow, 9, and the 13th" As the class watched Eugene anxiously await his results from Rhonda, Helga couldn't help but notice Arnold had taken her hand back. Not only that, he was nervously rubbing it.

"What's with you?" she asked, cocking her brow at him.

"I just hate that thing. That's all." he said, not being able to think of a better explanation.

Rolling her eyes at his nervousness, Helga scoffed "Pttss...Arnold please. We don't have to do what she says. You said yourself last time you played this. It's only a dumb game."

"How do you know what I said?" he asked, knowing she wasn't with him and Gerald when he took the test.

"Uhhh…." Before Helga could respond, they heard Rhonda shout "Sheena! You're going to marry Sheena!"

Sheena clapped with excitement before anxiously running over to grab her partner's hand.

Thinking back to the previous match that had been made between the two of them, Rhonda shook her head and said "I'm so sorry you two! This mean you could have spent these past few years as an actual couple, had we only known!"

"Uh yeah…" Eugene said nervously, glancing up at his said to be wife.

"Alright, who's next? How about you Stinky?" Rhonda suggested, seeing her country classmate walk towards her with curiosity.

"Well, okie dokie then."

"Pick your favorite color, number and day of the month you were born!"

"I reckon my favorite color is orange, on account of it's the same color as my as my huge pumpkin. Then I like the number 7, 'cause it's supposed to be lucky. I was born on the 11th." Stinky finished, after giving his unneeded reasons.

The rest of the class watched Rhonda work the information on her marriage predictor as Gerald stood beside his best friend and said "Mm, mm, mmm! By the time this game is over, I have a feeling the dress attire won't be the class' biggest concern."

Taking her friends' concern into consideration, Phoebe turned to say "As Rhonda said, I believe the purpose of pairing the class is merely to celebrate the idea of having fixed her game. It in no way whatsoever justifies the actual results of our future and the feelings we possess pertaining to it."

After calculating his answers, Rhonda announced "Stinky, you are going to marry Lila!"

"Gosh! Ms. Lila?" Stinky said surprisingly, while turning to see her with a delightful smile on her face.

"It sounds just oh too perfect!"

"That makes two plausible couples. One more and I'll give that romance paper mache marriage counselor of hers some credit." Helga scoffed, hearing her boyfriend let out a small gulp.

Looking for her next victim, Rhonda eagerly grinned "Harold, it's your turn!"

"Aww why do I have to do that stupid thing! I don't want to be married!" Harold whined.

"You're doing it Harold and you're showing up at the party with whoever you're paired up with!" Rhonda demanded.

"Mm, mm, mmm. Talk about arranged marriages." Gerald said, seeing Harold try to think of the needed information for the game.

"Uhh...I guess I like green. Then my favorite number is two and I was born on the 18th." Harold explained, waiting to leave.

"Who do you suppose you'll be paired up with Helga?" Phoebe couldn't help but ask her best friend.

Helga could feel Arnold's grip on her hand tightening as she replied "Pttss...the heck if I know. I don't have to do what it says."

Although the idea of his girlfriend having no interest in the game put his mind at ease a bit, Arnold couldn't help but feel things would still end badly if they didn't show up at the party.

"Okay Harold. You're going to marry Nadine!" Rhonda said excitedly, having made it nearly half way through her list.

"Fine. Can I go now? You guys are bugging me." Harold asked, not caring about Nadine's opinion.

Rhonda didn't seem to care either, as long as she had a partner for everyone. Looking over at the three remaining boys (Sid, Gerald and Arnold), Rhonda asked "So, who wants to go next?"

"Be my guest Sid." Gerald said, already having a girlfriend.

"Okay I guess. Can I pick green even though Harold chose it?" Sid asked nervously.

"Of course. The results wouldn't be correct if your opinions weren't honest." Rhonda explained, while Helga stood rolling her eyes, thinking to herself…

 _Criminy! Who does she think she is? Eros!_

"Then I like the number eight and was born on the 12th."

Sid nervously watched Rhonda tally up his score, looking at the remaining girls; the bully, the princess, and the class nerd.

"I have your results!" Rhonda said, while everyone remaining at this point couldn't help but grow a bit eager to know. "You're going to marry Phoebe."

Sid let out a sigh of relief, knowing he wouldn't be paired up with Helga or Rhonda. Although Helga wouldn't have liked the idea, no one was more relieved than Arnold. After all, she didn't feel the need to let anyone tell her what to do.

The kids then looked over to see Phoebe's reaction. Rather than saying anything, she turned to see the look of disappointment on her boyfriend's face.

"Guess I'll see you guys later." Sid said, knowing it could have been worse.

After watching their classmate leave, Phoebe said "Perhaps it won't be so bad Gerald. This could be used as an opportunity to test the strength of our feelings for one another."

Although she was simply trying to make her boyfriend feel better, they both knew it was pointless to look at it that way. Not only had they been together as long as Helga, but had both willingly acted on their feelings for one another before actually becoming a couple.

"Yeah, I guess so."

After watching Sid leave and giving Gerald a moment to sulk over his girlfriend's results, Rhonda proudly took notice of the fact that only two guys remained. "Arnold, Gerald, who's next?"

Gerald looked to see his best friend's hand hadn't left Helga's since the game began. He then figured, Phoebe had been taken, why would it matter if he got paired up with Rhonda?

"Alright, let's get this over with." Gerald sighed.

Rhonda eagerly held out her marriage predictor, ready to ask her three questions. "Pick your favorite color, number, and day you were born."

"Red, thirty-three, and the 3rd."

Gerald had been listening to what Helga was saying _I don't have to do what that thing says_ Therefore, he simply prepared himself to be paired up with Rhonda.

"Gerald, you are going to marry Helga Pataki!"

Turning to look at his best friend's girlfriend, he listened to her say "Pttss...yeah, I don't think so."

Although Helga was considered the class bully, Rhonda considered herself to have just as big an impact on people when it came to these types of things. She was quite manipulative. Therefore, she knew she could expect everyone to not only show up, but with who they were paired up with.

"Oh I _believe_ so Helga. And Arnold, there's no need to do you. It's obvious you were meant to be with me." Rhonda said, walking away from her friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: What Can We Do?

 _Slausens_

"What are we supposed to do Gerald?" Arnold asked nervously, still not having taken his hand off his girlfriend's.

"Calm down man. Like Pataki said, we don't have to go to that thing." Gerald reminded him, although still disappointed about not being paired up with Phoebe.

"But, what if…" Although she wasn't normally one to interrupt, even Phoebe was beginning to feel the nervousness about the situation was unnecessary.

"I believe our friend's are right Arnold. Whether or not we choose to attend, no one actually intends on forming a relationship with the person they were paired up with."

"Pttss...ya got that right!" Helga scoffed, looking over at her said to be husband.

The waitress then appeared with their orders. As Helga's large triple chocolate shake was placed in front of her, she turned to her boyfriend and said "Alright, I'm going to have to ask for my hand back now, Romeo."

"Oh umm sorry Helga." he blushed, having just now realized how long he had been holding it for.

Still not having calmed down, Arnold couldn't help but ask "What exactly did the invitation mean when it said we'd be meeting for 'marriage practice' tomorrow?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Gerald replied "You know that girl likes to drag out her ideas as much as possible. She's probably looking for a way to brag about her results."

"All the more reason to stay the heck away." Helga insisted, leaning back in her seat with her sweet treat.

It was bad enough Arnold wasn't paired with his girlfriend. He didn't like the idea of having to practice being married to someone else...and to Rhonda nonetheless!

Hoping to take everyone's attention off the marriage predictor, Helga asked "So assuming we do decide to humor ourselves by showing up at that thing, do you two lovebirds know what you'll be wearing?"

"I'm afraid we haven't made up our minds yet. Are you and Arnold aware of what you'll be wearing?" Phoebe admitted, looking over at her boyfriend.

Shrugging her shoulders as she neared the end of her shake, Helga scoffed "I'm shocked Princess didn't have an outfit predictor for all of us."

"Tell me about it. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go. All this marriage talk hasn't changed the fact that I've still got homework to do." Gerald pointed out.

 _Boarding House_

"Sorry about this afternoon Helga." Arnold sighed, as they were approaching his front porch.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, cocking her brow in confusion.

"I know how much Rhonda gets on your nerves. Now she's trying to make us all spend the weekend pretending we're in love with people we don't actually have feelings for."

"Yeah well that's Princess for you. If she knows of a way to make someone miserable, she won't hesitate to do it." Helga reminded him, as the two entered the boarding house.

They were nearing the kitchen when Arnold heard his grandpa call out "That you shortman?"

The two of them entered the kitchen to see Phil sitting with his newspaper. "Hey grandpa."

"Hey shortman! How was school?"

"Not bad. We got an invitation to a dinner party this weekend." Arnold blushed, not wanting to reveal all the details.

"Ooohhh a party! If you need help deciding what to wear, just ask your grandma. You know she's got all kinds of crazy outfits!" Phil reminded him.

"Uhhh thanks grandpa." Arnold replied, quickly turning around to take his girlfriend upstairs.

"Crazy outfits?" she couldn't help but ask. She knew his family was eccentric, but had never been given all the details.

"Uhhh she likes to dress up every now and then when she cooks and cleans. I guess just to make it more fun for herself." he explained, hoping she wouldn't judge him too harshly for it.

"Don't expect that from me when we get married." she scoffed, not having meant to say that out loud.

A warm smile came to Arnold's face, seeing more and more that day Rhonda's game had no influence on his girlfriend whatsoever.

 _Rhonda's House_

"I am so excited about this! Tomorrow, I'll have everyone over to practice with the partner they were paired up with. Then Sunday, we'll have the actual dinner that was prepared for everyone." Rhonda said anxiously to her best friend.

"By the way Rhonda, what did you mean when you said 'practice' on your invite?" Nadine couldn't help but wonder.

"What do you think I meant?" Rhonda smirked, surprised her friend had to ask.

After watching Nadine shrug her shoulders Rhonda went on to explain "Nadine, married couples (who are nowhere as rich as my family) cook and clean together. Seeing as how I don't see any of our classmates worthy of growing up to afford someone to take care of those things for them, it would do them well to learn a thing or two about them."

"Uh huh? And are you planning to teach them yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous! My family's butler will be showing them simple dishes to prepare. Then they of course won't be allowed to leave until they've cleaned up the messes they've made (just like a real married couple).

 _Arnold's Room_

Sitting on his bed, still embarrassed by what she had said, Helga stared at her hands folded in her lap.

"So, you really could see us getting married one day?" he winked, taking a seat beside his nervous girlfriend.

Rolling her eyes at what she considered to be a senseless question, Helga said "What do you think hairboy?"

Placing a hand on her face, he began stroking her cheek with his thumb as he said "You never did answer my question earlier."

"Uhh...what question?" she hesitated, as her eyes began to widen.

Wrapping his other arm around her shoulder, he leaned closer to say "How you knew what I said about Rhonda's marriage predictor."

Although his eyes hadn't left hers, he could sense her trembling in his arms.

Helga let out a nervous gulp as he began to rub her shoulder, waiting for a response.

"Oh right…" she stuttered as her boyfriend felt the nervousness taking place from her shaking shoulders beneath his arm.

"So, how did you know?" Arnold smiled, resting his head against hers. Helga shut her eyes, not wanting to reveal the information until she felt him nuzzling his cheek against her own. A nervous chill was sent through her body, still not wanting to say anything.

"Uhhh…."

"Yes?" he asked anxiously, lacing his fingers with hers, as she sat there breathing heavily against him.

"I was kind of listening in on your conversation with her." Helga stuttered, as she watched the eagerness her boyfriend felt for knowing this information.

Arnold let out a small laugh, already knowing that had to have been the answer. She had confessed to stalking him several times before. What other excuse could there have been?

As he ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair that passed out the sweet scent of vanilla, he nuzzled his nose against his sweet girlfriend's and softly said "Yeah, I kind of figured."

 _Avon Theater_

"Are you guys going to the practice tomorrow? I'm not even sure of what it is?" Sid asked his friends, as they stood outside the theater together, waiting to see the new Evil Twin movie.

"I reckon so. On account of I won't know what to do at the actual party if I don't go to the practice." Stinky pointed out.

"What about you Harold?"

"What are we even doing there? What kind of stupid party makes you practice?" Harold said angrily.

"Beats me." Sid said, shrugging his shoulders.

 _Arnold's Room_

Although he was happy to have gotten that out of her, Arnold could see the uncomfortable look in his girlfriend's eyes. "Are you okay Helga?"

"Yeah, like you said, it's not like you didn't already suspect it." she sighed, lifting her head at the thought of him actually not having figured it out by now.

Rubbing her shoulder, he leaned in close to whisper in her ear "I wish you would have said something."

Helga couldn't help but roll her eyes, remembering how disgusted he was with his results that day.

"I think it's a good thing I didn't. If I'm remembering correctly, you weren't too thrilled to see I was your wife." she scoffed.

"I don't think her predictor was broken" he winked, hearing her gulp heavily. She was just as blindsighted to his true feelings for her as he had been to hers for him all those years.

The two of them sat there, each wondering if the other wanted to go through with Rhonda's plans for the weekend.

Arnold gazed into what he knew was his true partner's sapphire eyes, leaning in to meet her sweet lips. If anything was a perfect match, it was the way their lips came together to send a thrilling sensation throughout their bodies every time they met.

As Helga let out a content sigh, knowing she never had to worry about someone stealing her beloved from her, she felt him parting his lips just enough to say "Something else happened to me that night…"

 _Rhonda's House_

"I really don't think this is a good idea Rhonda. It's bad enough you've matched everyone up with people they don't care to attend the party with. Why would they want to spend the weekend doing chores?" Nadine protested, seeing her best friend standing with her hands on her hips.

"Nadine, why bother being married if you don't know what your partner is capable of doing for you? You wouldn't marry someone just for fun, if you weren't sure you'd be getting something good out of it." Rhonda smirked.

 _Arnold's Room_

Arnold could feel his girlfriend's lips beginning to quiver at the sound of these words. Not because she didn't know what it was, but because he once again didn't know she was already aware of the information.

After the only response from her seemed to be more tension building up, Arnold placed a hand behind her head to pull her closer. As he began nibbling on her lips, he could feel the goosebumps forming on her skin.

While he began rubbing her hand with his thumb, he felt a deep breath release from her nose. When their lips at last parted, without thinking, Helga sighed "I know."

 _Phoebe's Room_

"Thanks for helping me with my homework babe." Gerald said, knowing he could always count on his girlfriend for that.

"Why certainly Gerald." Phoebe smiled until noticing the disappointing look on her boyfriend's face.

"Is anything wrong? You seem a bit perturbed." Phoebe couldn't help but point out.

"I was just thinking about the party. I haven't made up my mind about going. I guess I won't have to since Pataki's obviously not wild about the idea. It would still be nice to go with you." Gerald said, wrapping his arm around Phoebe.

"Don't worry Gerald. As I said, this in no way pertains to our actual feelings for each other."

 _Arnold's Room_

Having let her tongue slip once again, Helga could feel her face turning red. If only she knew how deep his feelings for her truly were.

There she sat wide-eyed, trying to breathe steadily, as she felt her boyfriend place his hand on her thigh. It was amazing having her beloved act out the feelings she had been longing for. What if it wasn't all it seemed to be however? She would be humiliated if she jumped to the conclusion he loved her; that she could share anything with him.

Leaning his head against hers to nuzzle their cheeks once again, he whispered in her ear "What do you think it was?"

Helga felt her heart begin to pound as she felt her boyfriend's hand moving up her thigh. As comfortable as Arnold appeared to be with her, he still hadn't said he loved her. How could she believe _anything_ she told him wouldn't change his feelings for her at that point.

"Uhhh…."

"Yes?" he asked anxiously, pressing their noses together. It was possible he already knew the answer, he just wanted to hear it from her. He had done more than enough to show how comfortable he was opening up to her during their relationship. It was her turn to return the favor.

Butterflies began forming in her stomach at the idea of revealing the information as she felt her beloved's hand moving further up her dress. How could she risk losing whatever state his feelings for her were currently in, if there was no guarantee they were as strong as hers?

"I..I.."

A smile remained on Arnold as he continued to press his anxious yet content face against his girlfriend's. He was too comfortable to feel guilty about any nervousness his need for an answer maybe causing her.

Having finally felt his warm hand reach the top of her leg, Helga felt him start to massage her trembling skin. The touch of his warm hand stroking her along with his sweet face nuzzling against her own began opening up the urge for her to reveal his much needed information.

"I was kind of listening to you tell Geraldo about your dream on the bus the next morning." she said nervously.

 _Phoebe's Room_

"I suppose we could at some point see if Arnold and Helga would like to go shopping for new dinner outfits. Assuming they're planning on attending the party." Phoebe pointed out, as her boyfriend was grabbing his things.

"I don't see Pataki going through with it, but I guess that sounds good. Night babe." Gerald said, leaning over to give his girlfriend a short but sweet kiss. "See you at Rhonda's I guess."

"I'm looking forward to it." she nodded. Although it would have been nice to have her boyfriend as her partner, knowing he would be there with her was enough to make her happy.

 _Arnold's Room_

Helga was shaking fiercely at the idea of just having revealed that information. It wasn't a big deal telling Arnold another piece of information about stalking him. He had learned plenty about it by that point in their relationship. The idea of him asking what _her_ dream that night maybe about was just embarrassing however.

As he watched his girlfriend begin to shake harder, he held a hand to her face and said "Did you have a dream about me?"

 _Criminy! Why did he have to ask that?!_

"I don't think that's worth mentioning." she said nervously, feeling him pick up her hands to lace their fingers with. As he leaned his forehead against hers, he whispered "I do."

 _Gerald's House_

Gerald walked inside still disappointed to have not been paired up with his girlfriend, yet looking forward to the idea of shopping for it with her. Not to mention already being in too strong a relationship to have to worry about something as dumb as a party coming between them.

As he passed by the kitchen, he heard "Gerald, why are you home so late?"

"Sorry dad. I was doing my homework with Phoebe."

"It was your turn to do the dishes. Since Jamie O did them, you can clean up and take out the garbage. Also, make sure to turn out the lights in here when you're finished. We need to stop wasting electricity." Mr. Johannson demanded, walking past his son.

Gerald took a look at the full garbage can, along with the family items that had been scattered all over the room. Shaking his head, he thought to himself _Man! Is this what it's like to be married?_

 _Arnold's Room_

Arnold looked into his girlfriend's sapphire eyes as he leaned closer to rest his nose against hers. He moved close enough to the point where he was laying on top of her, pinning her back with their fingers still laced.

Rubbing his cheek against hers with a smile that hadn't left his face, he said "So, are you going to answer me?"

As she watched her beloved moving up and down against her heavily breathing chest, she said "Uhhh wouldn't you rather tell me about yours?"

Turning his face to look into her nervous eyes, he rested his nose against hers and said "You said you already listened to what my dream was about."

Clearing her throat as she felt him rubbing his thumbs along her hands, she replied "I don't remember any of it."

Feeling her squeeze his hands tightly at the touch of him stroking hers, he took notice of her heavy breathing not having calmed since he began digging for information on the subject.

Gently pressing his lips against hers, he rested them there to whisper "I don't think that's true."

Helga's lips once again began to quiver as she felt her beloved running his tongue alongside them.

She could sense this was his way of hoping to get a response out of her. She knew he was aware of the rare times she could be put in a vulnerable state. When she was, it wasn't hard to get the truth out of her.

After a moment or so of feeling her boyfriend swipe his tongue across her lips, Helga couldn't take the torture of keeping the information bottled up any longer. It was as though she was reliving repressing her unrequited love for Arnold.

Sensing she was trying to speak, Arnold slowly removed his lips to ask "Well?"

Rather than speaking, Helga nervously stared at the warm smile on her beloved's face, asking herself how harshly he would judge her after hearing her dream…

 _This is so humiliating! Isn't it enough I'm allowing him just to put me in this vulnerable position?_

After still not receiving a response, Arnold bent down to give her a soft kiss on the lips, thinking about the comforting position that had helped her open up to him before.

That being said, he unlaced their fingers, resting his sweet lips against her trembling ones. Helga's breathing began to steady until she felt her beloved's hands sliding up her shirt sleeves.

Arnold soon heard a content moan release from his girlfriend, as he wrapped his arms around her bareback, pressing their chests tightly together.

Tilting his head to the side, Arnold began playing with her tongue, anxious to get an answer out of her. While enjoying the moment, he didn't understand what there was for her to be so hesitant about. They were obviously close. What did she feel he would judge her for?

Shivers began racing through Helga's body as she felt her boyfriend running his soft hands along her smooth bareback.

Helga became lost in her thoughts until she felt her boyfriend slowly pulling away from her."

 _Rhonda's House_

"What exactly is the point of this being a dinner _party_ if we're just going to practice cooking and cleaning?" Nadine pointed out, seeing her best friend shake her head.

"I said we're celebrating Sunday! Tomorrow we're testing the accuracy of the predictor by having everyone practice with their partners." Rhonda explained, hoping to make herself clear.

 _Arnold's Room_

Watching him hover above her with his signature look, Helga asked "What is it?"

"I'm still waiting for you to tell me what your dream was about." he smiled, moving his hands along her bareback. Chills ran through her each time he moved his hands alongside her skin.

Arnold continued watching the still look on his girlfriend's face until he bent down to nuzzle his cheek against hers. Rubbing their soft skin together, he whispered close to her ear "Please…"

Knowing he wasn't going to stop, Helga began to breathe heavily as she opened her mouth to give her answer.

"If I tell you, you better not make fun of me." she scoffed.

Sitting up straight to pull off his sweater, a wide grin formed on Arnold's face as he began unbuttoning his shirt, eager to hear the information he was about to be given.

"Wouldn't 'dream' of it." he winked, as he layed back down on his girlfriend, kissing her neck impatiently.

"Well, I was president in my dream." she began, seeing her boyfriend lift his head with a wide grin on his face.

"That sounds like you." he replied, running a finger across her lips.

Rolling her eyes at his reaction, she went on to explain "Yeah well, then I dreamt you were captured." Helga blushed, not wanting to make eye contact with her boyfriend.

Turning her face towards his, Arnold said with an intrigued look "I'm guessing it was you who came to my rescue."

Helga's cheeks turned bright red at the thought of him knowing what happened. As she laid there, looking into his eager eyes that cried out for more information, she began to feel him running his hands up her sleeves.

Arnold pulled his girlfriend close enough to feel the strumming of each other's heartbeats as he asked "Who was it that kidnapped me?"

"Uhhh…" Helga began, but wasn't able to answer before she felt her boyfriend place his lips over her own. As he slowly sucked them, Arnold tightly wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, having a good idea of what the answer was.

Moments later, he parted their lips just enough to say "Was it Lila?"

Helga's eyes widened with embarrassment. The thought of it being so obvious to him actually made her begin to struggle in his arms.

As he watched the nervous look in her eyes, Arnold pressed his nose against hers and asked "How did you save me?"

Helga began to shiver at the thought of passing out more information. He had her in a tight hold however. As she looked into his enticing eyes, she hesitantly admitted "I was a ninja warrior in my dream."

Arnold did his best to hold back his laugh, knowing how uncomfortable she already was. As he bent down to kiss her neck, he whispered "You always were there for me."

A heavy swoon released from Helga as she watched him lift his head to gaze into her eyes.

After smiling at his girlfriend a moment, Arnold had to ask "So, are you planning on going to Rhonda's tomorrow?"

Helga rolled her eyes at the sound of their uptight classmate's name. "I guess it wouldn't be fair to make you go alone. We wouldn't want Princess coming after you if you skipped out on her." she smirked.

"If you really are a ninja warrior, I don't think I'd have anything to worry about." he winked.

Helga laid there content to have gotten that off her chest, while Arnold hoped she would soon be as comfortable opening up to him as he was with her. After holding her hand in public, showing his nervousness for not being her partner, and his excitement to hear about everything going on in her life, it was clear _he was never afraid to show his feelings for her._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: If Only It Were That Simple

 _Arnold's Room_

HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD!

The next morning, Arnold awoke anxious to already have the weekend over and done with. _The thought of being back in class with his actual girlfriend seemed much better than attending a party with a pretend spouse._

After getting dressed and ready, he headed downstairs for some breakfast where he saw his grandma cooking in one of the many costumes his grandpa had lead on about the previous day.

"Morning shortman! Ever figure out what you're wearing to that party of yours?" Phil asked, as he watched his grandson take a seat beside him.

"No. I've kind of got something else on my mind." Arnold sighed, not caring about the plate of food that had been placed in front of him.

"Shoot it at me shortman!"

"Well, Rhonda paired everybody in the class up with who she thinks they'll marry one day."

"How the heck did she do that?" Phil asked, scratching his head.

"She made an origami marriage predictor." Arnold began to explain, receiving a baffled look from his grandpa.

"Ori-what now?"

"A marriage predictor. It's a thing she made herself to pair up everyone in the class. Now she's making us all go over to her place to practice being a couple...whatever that means." Arnold shrugged his shoulders, not having been told about the cooking and cleaning.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say her dream is to be a marriage counselor and she's using you all for practice." Phil thought out loud.

"Uhhh she said she just wants to see how accurate the results of it are. I guess I could try to have fun with it." Arnold sighed, looking down at his folded hands on the table.

"Well, I wouldn't read too much into it shortman. If worse comes to worse, you could always make a divorce ori-device thingy." Phil laughed, seeing Arnold rise from the table.

"Thanks grandpa."

"Anytime shortman!"

 _Phoebe's House_

"How do you suppose the practice will be at Rhonda's tonight Helga?" Phoebe asked, looking at what appeared to be her annoyed friend.

"Pttss...the heck if I know? Princess thinks just because she took an extra ten minutes to write every freakin' person's name down on that pathetic folding device of hers, that makes her some kind of love goddess. Well, I can tell ya one thing. Helga G. Pataki's not taking any marital advice from her!" Helga scowled, folding her arms, as she leaned against her friend's bed.

"I gather that means you won't be attending the events this weekend." Phoebe said softly.

Rolling her eyes at the question, Helga turned towards her best friend and said "Oh gimme a break Pheebs! Do you seriously think I could live with the guilt of making football head deal with Princess all weekend alone?"

After seeing Helga was simply trying not to make it seem as though she was admitting defeat to Rhonda, Phoebe asked "You're not worried about anything are you Helga?"

Cocking her brow at the question, she replied "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well Rhonda can be quite manipulative and I'm well aware of how delicate your feelings are when it comes to yours and Arnold's relationship. The last thing to benefit you now would be a lack of faith in Arnold's true feelings for you."

Helga couldn't help but feel a bit insulted. The only reason she had been dreading the party was she didn't like people telling her what to do. Arnold on the other hand, seemed to be the one acting as though this actually could be putting their relationship in danger.

"Are you crazy?! Just because she's ruining my weekend doesn't mean I'm going to let her ruin my relationship!"

"Well okay then Helga. Just don't let her get to you." Phoebe insisted.

 _Gerald's House_

"How'd studying with Phoebe go last night?" Arnold asked, sitting beside his best friend while watching a rerun of Pop Daddy.

"Okay I guess. I came home and had to do a bunch of cleaning." Gerald sighed. "So, what's Pataki going to be doing while you're with Rhonda tonight?"

"Uhhh she's coming with me. Are you not going to be there?" Arnold asked curiously.

Gerald leaned forward on the couch as he lifted an eyebrow "Yeah, but I didn't expect _her_ to. No offense man, but she's not the type to take orders from people."

"I know, but she said it wouldn't be fair to make me deal with Rhonda alone."

"That was considerate of her." Gerald said, surprised by the answer.

 _Rhonda's House_

"NO! NO! NO! These are not the candles I said I wanted for the dinner party!" Rhonda shouted at her butler.

As Nadine took notice of the rage building inside her friend each time a mistake was made with the dinner plans, she said "You know Rhonda, the actual dinner isn't until tomorrow. There's still time to shop for it."

"We can't wait until tomorrow to shop Nadine! Today we need to prepare for practice then begin setting up the _already bought_ items tomorrow!" Rhonda scoffed.

Rolling her eyes at her dramatic friend, Nadine said "I don't think anyone would care what the room looked like as long as they didn't have to cook."

"Do you not remember the purpose of this weekend?!" Rhonda exclaimed with her hands on her hips.

Knowing she wasn't going to win, Nadine suggested "Everyone won't be here until later this evening. You have time to buy everything. It's not like you made shopping part of the practice."

Hearing this gave Rhonda an idea, as an evil grin formed on her face.

 _Walk_

After leaving her best friend's house, Helga slowly wandered the streets thinking to herself…

 _I wonder how weird Arnold thinks I am after hearing about my dream?_

She continued staring at the ground with her hands at her sides until suddenly… THUMP!

After falling to the ground, Helga shook her head to see she had once again bumped heads with her boyfriend.

"Arnold!" she exclaimed, as she watched him reach out a hand for her.

"Sorry about that Helga." he said softly, as he helped her off the ground.

As she stood up, she scoffed "Walk much football head?"

"I guess not. Would you like me to walk you home?" he offered, with a warm smile on his face.

"Sure football head."

As the two walked down the street hand in hand, Arnold couldn't help but notice how quiet his girlfriend was being.

"Is everything okay Helga?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about Princess' stupid get together tonight." she scoffed.

"I'm not looking forward to it either. Gerald said he and Phoebe are going though." Arnold sighed, not knowing if that information would be at all encouraging to her.

"Pttss...I'm not going so I can be his pretend spouse or Princess' doormat. I'm just too nice to make you spend a weekend alone with her." Helga rolled her eyes, content with her reason.

A smile formed on Arnold's face as he began to rub Helga's hand with his thumb. Unusually intense feelings had been forming inside him when thinking of her lately. Hearing her feel total repulsion at the idea of expressing loving feelings for anyone other than him brought an overwhelming amount of joy to his heart. Perhaps it was more than joy…

 _Helga's House_

When the young couple approached Helga's porch, Arnold turned to his girlfriend to say " I guess I'll see you tonight."

Helga took notice of the dissatisfied look in her boyfriend's face, knowing she wouldn't be walking in as _his_ date.

"Guess so."

Before turning to go inside, Helga looked down at her hand that was still being held by her boyfriend and said "Relax football head. If this dinner party makes everyone that miserable, we'll all be throwing her a 'just desserts' party."

After smiling at her witty remark, Arnold pulled her close to kiss her. Holding her in his arms, he thought to himself _This short walk will have been the best part of my day by the time it's over; all because I got to spend it with her._

What was it about the idea of switching partners that had him so uncomfortable for one weekend? It was just a dinner party. They weren't actually marrying the person they were being paired up with.

 _Boarding House_

Arnold opened the door to watch the sea of animals pour past him. As he entered the boarding house, he heard someone talking in the kitchen.

Entering the room, he saw grandpa sitting at the table talking to his parents who were busy doing the dishes.

"Hey shortman!" Phil exclaimed, having noticed his grandson entering the kitchen.

"Hey guys." Arnold said, taking a seat beside Phil.

Miles turned away from the sink to face his son and said "Your grandpa told us about the party tonight. Sounds like fun!"

"I told him to go to Pookey if he needed any interesting outfits." Phil reminded him.

"Actually, tonight's just practice. The actual party is tomorrow."

Miles lifted an eyebrow in confusion as Stella turned to ask "Practice for what sweetie?"

Before Arnold could answer, Phil butted in to say "Some classmate of his wants to be a marriage counselor and is using all the kids in his class to practice with."

After rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold explained "Actually, Rhonda made an origami marriage predictor to match everyone in the class up with a partner. She said a good way to celebrate would be to practice being married tonight. Then have a dinner party with the person we're paired up with tomorrow."

After listening to the explanation, Miles laughed and said "If only marriage was that simple."

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"It's not always easy finding who you're meant to be with sweetie. Even if you're with someone you like, there are things you have to consider before knowing if you actually love them." Stella explained.

"Yeah, like what kind of crazy things she'll be slipping into your dinner." Phil warned his grandson.

"What kind of things?" Arnold was curious to know, having been noticing some intense changes as far as his emotions for Helga went lately.

Miles took a seat at the table with the family, feeling the need to get in on the conversation. Looking over at his wife, he said "Well, she's the best part of your day. No matter what happens to you in it, nothing will be able to top seeing her."

Stella's eyes lit up at the sound of this as she looked at her husband and said "They're the first thing you think about in the morning."

"You're always willing to put their needs ahead of your own." Miles turned to face his son, giving a rather serious look.

"You'd be willing to do anything for them." Stella added, while also turning her attention towards her son, with a smile on her face.

"You're not afraid to show your feelings for them around other people." Miles said as Pookey was entering the room.

Phil looked over to see her in her karate outfit with a watermelon ready to be chopped.

"I'd take your time on that one shortman." Phil suggested.

"You love the imperfections about them." Stella continued on with the list, knowing how true it was.

"You think long-term. It's hard to picture a future without them." Miles explained, thinking back to when he first met Stella. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew they were meant for each other.

"You become a better person. Being in love makes you want to work on yourself, because you're doing it for someone else." Stella explained, while watching the momentous look taking place on her son's face. Was this really what Helga had been doing to him lately?

"Your feelings are unconditional. There isn't anything that changes how you feel about that person." Miles said, knowing he would always feel that way about his wife.

"Most importantly sweetie, they're your best friend. You feel comfortable telling them anything or doing anything with them." Stella said happily, hoping one day her son would be lucky enough to feel that way about someone.

Arnold stood from the table, looking at his happy parents, as he said "Thanks you guys. I'll be in my room."

 _Helga's House_

"Who drank all the milk for crying out loud!" Bob scowled, as he rummaged through the fridge for an afternoon snack.

As Helga sat in the living room, looking at a wrestling comic, she heard her mom beginning to stir at the sound of her father's angry voice.

"Huh? What? Oh I'm...I'm awake."

"For crying out loud Miriam! Did you forget to go shopping again?!" Bob shouted at his hungover wife.

"Oh it's actually a sad story B…" Miriam began, as Helga rolled her eyes listening in on the conversation…

 _You left the stupid groceries on top of the car again!_

As she sat there listening to the argument, Helga thought to herself…

 _Criminy! Why in the heck would anyone want to be married if this is what they'd be facing every day?_

 _Boarding House_

When Arnold saw it was time to head over to Rhonda's he began heading downstairs. As he past the kitchen, he heard "See ya shortman!"

Arnold decided to sit down beside him grandpa for a moment, not being in a huge rush to get there.

"So, you excited about tonight?" Phil winked.

"I was actually thinking about what my parents said. I've been feeling differently about Helga lately." Arnold admitted.

"Uh oh. She being extra cranky?"

"No, we're doing really well. Now it's at the point where, the thought of anything coming between us really scares me. Maybe I'm just being crazy." Arnold thought out loud.

"Arnold, let me tell ya a story…" Phil began, as his grandson listened attentively.

"When your grandma and I first started going out, she was just as mean as she was before I figured out she liked me. She wouldn't let me picked the movies we saw, the places we ate at, or what day of the week we hung out together. I asked myself constantly 'Why am I with this girl?' Then one day, I heard another boy say he was going to ask her out…" Phil said as Arnold's eyes lit up.

"What happened?"

"I was nervous as could be all day! Then the other boy asked her out."

"Did she go out with him?"

"Nope. She shot a spit wad right at him. It broke my heart seeing her do that at anyone other than me hehe." Phil laughed.

"So what's this got to do with Helga?"

"Love gives you all sorts of crazy feelings. She'd have to be pretty crazy to leave you though." Phil winked, knowing how strong Helga's feelings were for his grandson.

"Uhh thanks grandpa."

 _Rhonda's House_

"Okay! We've got the food, the cook to make sure they don't burn the place down, and I have my shopping list for tomorrow's dinner. We just need to wait for people to start arr…" Rhonda said to Nadine before being interrupted by the doorbell.

Rhonda anxiously went to answer as she saw her friends enter with unamused faces; none of them standing with the person they had been paired up with.

After everyone had entered and began heading for the living room, Rhonda said "Ummm excuse me, but where do you think you're going?"

As Nadine stood behind her, she rolled her eyes at the idea of her friend thinking the class' first intention would actually be to head for the kitchen. After all, no one had been informed what practice was about.

"To the living room. Ever heard of it?" Helga scoffed.

"That won't be necessary for practice." Rhonda informed her irritated friend with a smile on her face.

"If I may ask, what _will_ we be doing this evening, Rhonda?" Phoebe requested knowing politely.

 _Rhonda's Kitchen_

"Alright! We get to eat!" Harold exclaimed, looking for any already prepared dishes.

"Not exactly Harold." Rhonda corrected him, hoping to drag out the suspense as long as possible.

"Then what in the heck are we doing?" Stinky wondered.

"Yeah. I mean, the invitation said tonight was practice for something. What are we going to be practicing?" Sid reminded her.

Nadine sighed, knowing her friend's weren't going to like the answer. It was surprising enough they bothered to show up tonight without having all the needed information.

"Well, if you know anything about a simple marriage, you know some of the basic requirements are cooking and cleaning. I decided, what better way to test the accuracy of my marriage predictor's results, than by having it's couples perform those requirements." Rhonda said proudly, not caring about anyone's reactions.

While the angry faces began forming on her classmates' faces, Helga rolled her eyes with her hands on her waists and said "Pttss...yeah, I don't think so. See you losers later."

"You'll do well to stick around Helga." Rhonda said, stopping her angry friend from exiting the room.

As she listened to this unnecessary comment, Helga whipped her head around and scoffed "Why is that Princess?"

"Whether or not the results of my test were accurate, you can't expect to please your husband one day without showing him you're capable of fulfilling a few house tasks."

A small gulp escaped Helga, wondering if that was really how Arnold felt. He hadn't confessed to loving her yet. The previous night was the first time marriage had ever been mentioned. Even then, they didn't actually discuss what it would be like. Is that really what he would think of her if they were to get married?

Without taking Phoebe's words into consideration about how manipulative their friend could be, Helga marched back to the center of the room and scoffed "Fine! What the heck are we supposed to be doing?"

"Well, we've laid out the instructions and ingredients for some simple dishes that we'll be having at the actual party tomorrow. All you have to do is work in your arranged couples to prepare them. Then of course, clean the mess you've made when you're finished." Rhonda smirked.

While the group angrily began to follow her instructions, Rhonda pulled Arnold to the side and said "Not you Arnold."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not knowing why she didn't want him helping.

"While the rest of them are preparing the food for the party, you and I will be out shopping for the other needed necessities." she said eagerly.

A petrified look formed on Arnold's face, not wanting to leave his girlfriend alone. There she was cooking and cleaning against her will, while he was being given the choice to leave. The only reason Helga even came was so he wouldn't be left alone. _She didn't need to be doing this for him anymore than he needed to be shopping for her._

"Uh...no thanks Rhonda. I'll just stay and help out with the cooking."

"No one needs any extra help with that. Now let's go!" she insisted, as he turned to take one last depressing look at his clearly unhappy girlfriend.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: You cook, I'll shop

"How in the heck am I supposed to use this thing again?" Stinky asked, holding the colander upside down and over the stove.

"We won't be needing that until after the pasta is boiled." Lila explained.

"What's boiled mean?"

"It mean to wait for the noodles to soften in the warm water for a few minutes. Then they become oh so soft."

"So that's when we eat them out of here?"

"No Stinky. We use the colander to drain the water from the pot they cook in."

"Well okie dokie then."

 _The Corner Store_

As the kids were being taught simple dishes to make and save for the party the next day, Rhonda was happily leading Arnold to The Corner Store.

"Here we are Arnold. Now we can get the candles, table cloths, and dishes for the special occasion." Rhonda smirked, while Arnold slowly followed behind, thinking about how miserable his girlfriend must be.

Rhonda immediately searched for the candles, while Arnold couldn't help thinking back to the previous evening he had spent with his girlfriend. _Not only had he so easily opened up to her, but he was anxious to hear her opinion of what it would be like for them to be married one day_. Were his feelings for her really becoming that deep?

As he took this into deep consideration, Rhonda stood eyeing the candles, thinking out loud to herself "Should we get blue or pink? Blue would match the dining room, but pink is far more sophisticated. I suppose we'll just have to go with both."

 _Rhonda's Kitchen_

"Oh brother! I can't believe I'm wasting my time chopping vegetables for a stupid salad in Princess' kitchen with tall hair boy!" Helga scoffed, at last realizing she had been manipulated by her selfish classmate.

"Yeah well, this wasn't exactly my first choice on how to spend a Saturday night." Gerald said, while glancing over at who he hoped would one day be his actual wife.

 _The Corner Store_

"Okay, we've got the candles! Now we can focus on the table cloths!" Rhonda said excitedly as Arnold sighed, following her over there.

After looking them over, hoping to move things along, he picked one up and said "How about his one?"

Rhonda couldn't help but laugh as she said "Arnold please, we can do better than cotton. I'm torn between satin and silk. I suppose silk is a bit ordinary; satin will do."

Arnold rolled his eyes, hoping Helga was having a better time than he was, although he knew the chances were highly unlikely.

 _Rhonda's Kitchen_

"Aww! Why do I have to help with the stupid cooking? I'm not a girl!" Harold whined.

"Don't worry Harold, ours won't take long." Nadine assured him, while preparing the ingredients for the cucumber sandwiches. "There are just four or five ingredients we need to mix into a bowl that we can use to spread across the bread for the sandwiches."

"Like what?"

After showing him the list, Harold tried reading everything out loud. "Wor...worces...oh I can't read this word?"

"Worcestershire. It's a fermented liquid condiment from England." Phoebe couldn't help but butt in from across the room.

"I don't see why we couldn't just do something fun married couples do? Like go to the roller rink." Sid sighed, standing beside his partner.

"Well, as I explained to Arnold and Helga, Rhonda merely felt the urge to see how well the results of her marriage predictor would be if given actual tasks to go along with them."Phoebe explained, while watching Sid place the chicken in the oven.

 _The walk_

After paying for the needed dinner supplies, Rhonda began leading Arnold back to her house. "Now that we've got everything, we can head back home and see how well everyone did with their partners. I think you and I did a splendid job shopping together." Rhonda smiled, while a large frown began forming on Arnold's face.

His girlfriend was stuck spending her Saturday night cooking and cleaning for the last person she would want to do that for, and he wasn't there to help her.

"Uhhh Rhonda, if you don't mind my asking, what exactly was the point of this? I get you wanted to see if your marriage predictor was right about how well we could work together, but you don't really believe that's all marriage is about for people who are less fortunate than you, do you?" Arnold asked.

"Don't be ridiculous Arnold! I was simply doing them a favor by showing them hard times they are sure to be facing later in life."

Arnold stopped to look at his pretend wife, full of rage. "Just because we're not rich doesn't mean we're not happy, and just because we can't afford to have someone do those types of things for us doesn't mean we'll be miserable the rest of our lives."

 _Rhonda's Kitchen_

"Ow! I'm Okay!" A clumsy boy said after slipping on a lady finger that had been dropped on the floor in front of him.

"Oh my Eugene! Let me help you!" Sheena exclaimed, reaching out a hand for her pretend husband.

As Gerald was finishing up the salad, Helga rolled her eyes with her hands on her waists and said "Forget him! Look at the even bigger mess he made in here! It'll take all night to clean up this mess!"

Before receiving a response, the kids turned their heads to see Rhonda and Arnold entering the room with a couple of bags."

Helga examined the annoyed look on her boyfriend's face as she listened to Rhonda say "So, how are we doing? Is everything ready to be put in the fridge until tomorrow?" Rhonda insisted on knowing.

"What's it look like Princess?" Helga smirked, with her hands on her waist.

"Wonderful! Now we can get to the cleaning."

"Man! What kind of party is this?!" Gerald insisted on knowing.

Arnold looked at his frustrated classmates and said "Let me do it Rhonda."

Helga cocked her brow at her boyfriend's eager offer as she listened to Rhonda ask "What for Arnold?"

"Well, I don't think it's very fair that they spent the night cooking while you and I were out shopping."

"Suit yourself." Rhonda smirked, as she exited the kitchen with most of her classmates.

Standing beside his friend, Gerald said "So you're going to clean up this mess all by your lonesome?"

"I uhhh guess." Arnold shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at his girlfriend. He knew it wouldn't be fair to ask her, although he hoped she would stay. Whatever little time he had to spend with her meant the world to him, no matter how it was done.

"Whatever you say Arnold."

After their two best friends left, Arnold stood beside his girlfriend and said "Guess you'll be wanting to leave too then?"

"I wanted to leave before I got here…" she began, while noticing the frown forming on his face.

"I came so Princess wouldn't make you miserable though. I'd be doing a pretty crummy job of that if I left you here to clean this up yourself."

Arnold gave his girlfriend a tight hug, not caring about what a mess the kitchen was. Just the fact that she cared enough to still be there waiting for him when he returned warmed his heart with joy.

 _One Hour Later_

Standing by the sink, scrubbing dishes with his girlfriend, Arnold said "This brings back memories."

Rolling her eyes at the night he was referring to, Helga scoffed "Only we actually got to eat the food that was prepared that night."

"Either way, I enjoyed our time together and still do." Arnold smiled, looking over at his blushing girlfriend.

Helga continued to keep her eyes on the dishes, hoping to hide her red face until she felt herself being sprayed with water.

As she looked over to see her boyfriend winking at her, she couldn't help but let out a swoon, rather than a harsh scowl that time.

Arnold could feel another intense emotional feeling building up inside himself as he witnessed the smile on his girlfriend's face. While standing there, washing the dishes with her, he realized within the past two days, he had done and felt things for Helga his parents had mentioned to him. Were those feelings stronger than he realized?

 _Helga's House_

After finishing the dishes, Arnold decided to walk his girlfriend home. It was a beautiful night. The weather was warm and there were more stars out than usual. When they made it to her front porch, Arnold turned to his girlfriend and said "Thanks for staying and helping."

Rolling her eyes at the idea of him thinking she would dessert him, she scoffed "I'm not that mean you know. I wouldn't just ditch you."

Taking her hand in his, Arnold began to rub it, thinking about what she had just said. 'I'm not that mean.' While it was true she had a bit of an attitude, it was one of the things that made her stand out from the other; something that made her special to him.

It made him take into consideration another thing from his parents' list _love their imperfections._

"I know you're not. Even if you did, something tells me I'd forgive you." Arnold smiled softly, as her eyes began to widen. It never ceased to amaze her how forgiving he was about her hostile behavior. The way he was always able and willing to look past her aggressive behavior.

Pulling her close to kiss her, the idea of the unhappiness she experienced that night began to created intense feelings of frustration. He didn't care what Rhonda's reasons were for having everyone do what they did that night. Just the idea of not being able to help his girlfriend, _not being there to do anything for her,_ was heartbreaking.

After feeling he had made his point, he pulled back to see the amazed look on her face.

"Everything okay football head?"

"Uhh yeah. Sorry about that." he blushed, not knowing how to explain the feelings he had been experiencing recently.

Shrugging her shoulders, she said "Whatever. See you tomorrow."

"I think Phoebe and Gerald still want to go shopping for our outfits." Arnold reminded her, before she could make it inside.

"Oh right. I'll talk to Pheebs if you and Geraldo want to meet up with us." Helga sighed, not crazy about the idea of shopping.

"Sounds good. Sweet dreams." Arnold waved good night to his girlfriend, while she waited until he was far enough to way to let out a deep swoon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Did It Mean Anything?

After walking his girlfriend home, Arnold made it back to his place. After a night spent of shopping and and dishwashing, he was ready to crawl in under the warm covers and pass out.

As badly as he wanted to sleep however, there was something remaining on his mind. In one way after another he noticed himself experiencing with Helga things his parents had mentioned when someone knows they've found the right person. Was he ready to tell Helga he loved her?

 _Dream_

 _Arnold: What's going on? Why are we in this cage?_

 _Stinky: Didn't ya read your invitation Arnold?_

 _Gerald: Yeah man. Rhonda's about to match us up with her marriage predictor!_

 _Rhonda: Okay, you're first Arnold!_

 _After pulling the confused boy out of the cage, Arnold turned to look at his upset girlfriend who was being forced to marry someone against her will._

 _Arnold: But, I don't want to do this! None of us do!_

 _Rhonda: My origami marriage predictor is never wrong Arnold!_

 _Arnold: But, I want to be with Helga?_

 _Rhonda: And what makes you think that would be a good idea?_

 _Arnold: Because…_

 _Rhonda: Because why?_

 _Arnold: Because I'm not afraid to tell her things._

 _Rhonda: Why would you want to tell her_ ANYTHING?

 _Arnold: I'm happy to do things for her._

 _Rhonda: You do things for_ EVERYBODY _Arnold! Seriously, what makes her so special?_

 _Arnold: I guess it just hurts seeing her put in that position. She's a strong person. She doesn't need people making her feel vulnerable._

 _Rhonda: What has she done to deserve this from you? She treats you terribly!_

 _Arnold: She saved my parents!_

 _Rhonda: Oh please. Aren't we all getting sick of that excuse?_

 _Arnold: I guess it just proved to me she has a sensitive side. I've always known deep down she was a good person. After that happened, it made me realize I had actual feelings for her._

 _Rhonda: And why would you care to let anyone else know that?_

 _Arnold: Why wouldn't I? She's just as sensitive as she is aggressive. Not all girls are the same._

 _Rhonda: Wouldn't you rather be with someone who's flaws aren't as easily pointed out. Lila perhaps._

 _Arnold: You don't love someone because they're perfect._

 _Rhonda: So, you're just going to settle then?_

 _Arnold: How am I settling when Helga's everything I could hope for?_

 _Rhonda: Years down the line, you see yourself happy with her just as she is now?_

 _Arnold: Why would you want to change someone you love?_

 _Rhonda: So you admit it then? You love her…_

HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD!

Arnold awoke the next morning, curious of what his dream could have meant. WAS there a meaning behind it?

After taking a moment to process this, he got up to get dressed and ready for the day he'd be spending shopping for the night his friends had been dreading all weekend.

RING RING RING…

"Hello?"

"Hey Gerald."

"Hey man. What's up?"

"Helga said to meet her and Phoebe at the mall to shop for dinner tonight."

"Something tells me it won't be worth the trouble, but alright. Meet ya there." Gerald sighed.

 _The Walk_

"Did Arnold happen to mention to you what his night with Rhonda was like?" Phoebe asked, while heading towards the mall with her friend.

Shrugging her shoulders, Helga replied "The thought didn't cross my mind. I think we were both just ready to get out of there."

"I must say, it was quite sweet for him to volunteer to clean everyone's mess on his own."

Thinking back to standing at the sink with her beloved, Helga's eyes fell half lidded as she thought to herself…

 _Oh Arnold! If only you knew how much I cherrish each second we spend together each day! Listening to you share your do gooder knowledge in a kind and caring way. Seeing you work your magic on those in need of your assistance. Feeling the warm touch of your open and honest presence. The way you…_

"Helga? Helga? Helga!" Phoebe called, snapping her friend out of her daze.

"Huh? What?"

"We've arrived at our destination." Phoebe pointed out, while Helga looked to see Arnold and Gerald standing outside the mall.

 _Mall_

The girls walked over to see their unamused boyfriends waiting outside the store for their arrival. "Well, ready to get this overwith football head?" Helga asked, seeing her boyfriend reach out a hand for hers.

"Yeah, let's go."

"So what exactly are we looking for? I'm not buying something expensive if it's not for someone I'm not actually married to. No offense Pataki." Gerald said, not sure of why they were wasting their time there.

"I'm sure Rhonda would appreciate it if we arrived in what appeared to be something implying we at least made an effort to show we cared about the evening." Phoebe explained, as her best friend rolled her eyes.

"We just spent an evening busting our butts in her kitchen against our wills. I don't think Princess deserves to have anymore appreciation shown to her." Helga scoffed.

Not caring about her anger, Phoebe lead Helga towards what appeared to be approapriate dinner dresses.

As Arnold walked towards the suits, Gerald took notice of the puzzled look on his friend's face and asked "What's up man?"

"I had kind of a strange dream last night?" Arnold didn't hesitate to admit. Gerald already knew Arnold had feelings for Helga. Revealing the dream didn't seem like such a big deal.

"What was it about?"

"Well, we were all being paired up with Rhonda's marriage predictor…"

"So, you were just reliving a nightmare." Gerald said wittingly, seeing his best friend roll his eyes.

"Basically. Anyways, Rhonda tried convincing me it was pointless to stay with Helga. In my dream, I kept coming up with reasons why I needed her until finally I said I loved her." Arnold said softly, as Gerald's eyes widened.

"Love? You sure about that buddy?"

"I know it's a big thing to say…"

"No kidding."

"My parents told me everything that lets you know when you've found the right person. Lately, one thing after another keeps happening when I'm with Helga. Plus I can't stand the idea of her being married to someone else."

"Hey man. I think we both know I have no desires to be with her whatsoever." Gerald reminded him.

After letting out a deep sigh, Arnold glanced across the room at his girlfriend, while feeling a hand placed on his back. Gerald could see a new look in his friend's eyes. Not the same one he had seen when Arnold looked at Ruth or even Lila. It appeared as though Arnold was anxious to tell Helga his feelings, but didn't want to mess things up. He wasn't concerned about how badly things could end with his other crushes. He had just been anxious to wn them over. With Helga, the thought of doing anything to ruin what they already had was absolutely petrifying.

"So, what are you going to do man?"

 _Rhonda's House_

"I think the practice went quite well last night. While everything is reheated, I'll get the tablecloths laid out and the candles properly placed." Rhonda said to Nadine.

"So, is dinner all you have planned for tonight, or is there something else you have planned?" Nadine asked.

"I'm glad you asked!" Rhonda said excitedly, not caring about Nadine's reaction.

"As I said, the whole purpose of the weekend was to test out the accuracy of the marriage predictor. At dinner tonight, we shall see who follows this list best. Whoever follows them all is best couple….

No hostile behavior

No over-eating

No insect related discussions

No tripping

No over-reacting

Nadine shook her head at the list knowing these traits weren't the key to figuring out how successful marriages worked.

"What does the winning couple get?"

"Why would they need anything? Just the idea of being the best should be more than enough for them." Rhonda smirked.

 _The mall_

"This dress would look lovely on you Helga!" Phoebe held up a white, strapless, knee length dress. As Helga held it in front of herself, standing beside a mirror, she pictured herself standing beside her beloved at the alter one day.

 _Oh my beloved! One day I shall hear you speak the words I've always dreamed you would say to me! Those three haunting words that my soul has longed to hear you say since the moment we met on that dark, rainy day! Oh Arnold I…_

"Helga? Helga!" A voice called, snapping her out of her daze.

Helga viciously shook her head and turned to see her boyfriend standing beside her. "Huh? What?"

"Did you find something you like?" Arnold asked, having found a decent suit for himself.

"Eh, I guess this will do." she said, anxious to leave.

After checking out at the register, Phoebe turned to the boys and said "I suppose we'll be meeting you at the party tonight."

"Guess so. See ya later Helga." Arnold waved, not expecting to have fun that night.

"See ya football head."

As the boys watched the girls head off, Gerald turned to his best friend and said "Man! I can't believe how much money you spent on that thing!"

Shrugging his shoulders, Arnold said "What? We're supposed to look nice aren't we?"

"This was also supposed to be a fun weekend, which we spent cooking and cleaning." Gerald pointed out.

"Even so, I want to look nice."

"Why do you care about impressing Rhonda?"

"I don't. I just wanted to look nice for Helga." Arnold blushed, seeing Gerald lift an eyebrow.

"You do realize she's _my_ date?"

After rolling his eyes, Arnold took into consideration he once again had acted on how strong his feelings for his girlfriend were becoming. _Working on himself to become a better person._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Dinner Party

 _Boarding House_

It was almost time to leave for the party. Arnold was in his room taking one last look at himself in his new suit. As he was standing in front of the mirror, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Hey there shortman!" Phil said, seeing his grandson in the handsome dress attire he had purchased for the occasion.

"Hey grandpa."

"So, ya ready for that dinner of yours?"

"I don't know. I don't really have a choice." Arnold sighed, heading for the door.

"Well, you remember what I told you. She'd be crazy not to love you." Phil winked, patting his grandson on the back.

"Thanks grandpa." As appreciative as Arnold was of these words, they only made him tense at the thought of telling Helga how he felt about her. Even more so, _when_ he was going to do it.

 _Rhonda's House_

Rhonda was in the dining room, lighting the candles and straightening the tablecloth while the food was being brought in. As anxious as she was to have the evening start, she was even more anxious to know _how_ it would end.

Moments later, a knock came to the door and she raced to the front room, where she saw her friends waiting to have the night over and done with.

"Hello everyone! Please have a seat in the dining room!" Rhonda insisted, as Helga smirked "Pttss...you sure you don't want us in the kitchen?"

As the class followed Rhonda into the dining room, Arnold took notice of how beautiful his girlfriend looked. In her white dress that complimented her porcelain skin. Her golden hair was clipped high and flowing along the sides of her sweet face.

The nervousness he felt at the idea of revealing his true feelings for her began to remind him of what he witness the two times Helga had done it to him…

 _I guess I can understand why she acted the way she did._

Each person was instructed to sit beside their match. Rhonda sat at the head of the table, ready to judge everyone on their behavior. "Okay everyone, I have here a list of basic table etiquette manners for you all to follow. Whichever couple can cooperate best with their spouse while following these rules, will be named best couple!"

After glancing over to look at the list, Helga scoffed and said "I'd say half the people at this table are screwed."

"No kidding man!" Gerald said, while Rhonda grinned at the chance to jump on Helga. "I'm sorry to inform you, you have already gone against the first rule. No hostility!"

Although Helga's hostility wasn't Arnold's _favorite_ thing about her, he couldn't stand Rhonda's need to take advantage of the chance to torture her.

"It's not fair to make us do this Rhonda. We were just supposed to be having a nice dinner together." Arnold said.

"And I'm testing just how nice it is by seeing how well you all follow these rules with your mates. Now the food is here. Everyone, let's eat!" Rhonda smirked.

"How much are we allowed to eat? The sheet said no over eating." Sid pointed out, before attempting to fill his plate.

"Just don't go back for seconds or sadly thirds as some people would." Rhonda smirked, looking in Harold's direction.

Already having enough of the demanding, Helga scowled "Criminy! What are you? His wife or our mother?!"

Rhonda stood to point a finger in her angry friend's face as she said "I'm simply trying to help you better yourselves."

"How?! By pointing out every possible flaw known to mankind? Sheesh!" Helga scowled, leaning over her boyfriend.

Arnold sat in between the two angry girls hovering over him. Glancing over at his friend, Gerald shook his head and said "Mm, mm, mmm! This is definitely not good."

"I'm afraid I've no choice but to disqualify you and Gerald from the list of best couple." Rhonda smirked.

"Does that mean we don't have to act like a couple anymore? If so, I wish I would have known about this sooner." Gerald said wittingly.

Arnold took notice of the rage building inside his girlfriend as she began to clench her fists at her sides.

"Knock it off Rhonda! You're acting crazy." he insisted, standing from his seat.

"She's the one ruining dinner with her sassy remarks and inability to follow proper table manners. Why should I stop?"

Without thinking about his next words or anyone's reaction to them, Arnold shouted "Because I love her and don't appreciate the way you've been making her feel!"

The room became silent as everyone's attention was directed towards Arnold. No one was more surprised than Helga. As she unclenched her fists, she let out a loud gulp, thinking to herself….

 _He loves me? He actually loves me? Oh my beloved! Willing to go to such lengths to protect my feelings! To make our relationship work! The price you've put your dignity in all to confirm the existence of my happiness!_

Rolling her eyes at the excuse, Rhonda replied "Yes Arnold, we get you've recently acquired feelings for her. Perhaps you're pushing it a bit by going so far as to say you love her however."

Helga began to shake at the sound of these words. He did say it rather quickly. After all, Rhonda had been getting on everyone's nerves more than usual that weekend. He could have been desperate to say anything to shut her up.

Taking Helga's hand in his, Arnold turned to look into her sweet eyes and said "I do love her. _I would do anything_ if it meant making sure no one ever made her feel as miserable as you've been making all of us feel. No one's happy with the way things are right now."

"I believe Arnold's correct Rhonda. While the purpose of the weekend was in its own way creative, the restructions you insisted on including removed any chances of enjoyment in the activity." Phoebe explained.

"Fine! If you people wish to spend the rest of your young lives poorly prepared for what the future brings, suit yourselves." Rhonda said as she exited the dining room, no longer caring about dinner.

Arnold turned to smile at Helga, thinking about what he had just said to her. Before he could say anything, he heard…

"Did you really mean that Arnold? Do you really love her?" Sid asked, while Arnold could feel Helga trembling with anxiety at the touch of his hand.

Rubbing her hand with his thumb, he said "Yeah, I do Sid. _She's my best friend_...uh sorry Gerald."

After hearing this, Gerald turned to look at his sweet girlfriend. He knew exactly how his friend felt.

"I think I know where you're coming from man."

 _Helga's House_

Standing outside his girlfriend's house, holding her hand beneath the stars, Arnold looked into her sweet eyes and said "I'm sorry if I went to far saying that stuff. I just couldn't continue watching what Rhonda was doing to you...or any of us for that matter."

A sad look formed on Helga's face as she said "You didn't really mean it did you? You just wanted to shut Princess up. Can't say that I blame you."

A perplexed look formed on Arnold's face as he squeezed her hands tightly and said "Of course I did! I've been having some intense feelings lately, and didn't realize how big a deal they were until I talked to my parents.

They made me realize you're not just important to me because you're always helping me. I'm not just thankful for you because you saved my parents. I don't just spend time with you because you're my friend. I'm grateful for all those things and more because I love you and can't stand the idea of anyone making you unhappy.

Helga began to blush heavily. She had waited her whole life to hear those words from her beloved. Just having him kiss her willingly their night in the jungle was astounding. Now here he was, returning the passion she had felt for him all her life.

"Uhhh thanks. I love you too."

How she he knew she could be always brought a smile to Arnold's face. It was just more proof there was more to her than meets the eyes. As he pulled her close to meet her sweet lips, they shared their first ever kiss that possessed equally passionate feelings.

Arnold could feel his girlfriend shaking in his arms at the thought of him at last returning her heartfelt desires. After slowly pulling away, he said "I guess it's a good thing Rhonda wanted to have that party."

Helga stayed silent, as she waited for him to continue.

"I'm not sure my extreme feelings would have had the guts to show themselves if she hadn't treated you that way."

"Yeah well she can set anyone off." Helga scoffed.

"Maybe so. I'll be sure to thank her tomorrow for doing so." he winked, seeing his girlfriend's eyes fall back into their peaceful gaze.

 _ **THE END**_

 _ **THANKS FOR READING**_

 _ **PLEASE REVIEW**_


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